Electric discharge apparatus



NOV. 20, 19 34. J. NQLTE AL 1,981,524

ELECTRIC DISQHARGE APPARATUS Filed Aug. 5, 1931 T0 SOURCE OF FLU/0 AND ELEGTR/CAL SUPPLY lhventors:

Henry J. Nolte, Elm er D. Mc Arthur,

Th eir Attorn ey.

Patented Nov. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC DISCHARGE APPARATUS Application August 3, 1931, Serial No. 554,708

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to electrical discharge apparatus and more particularly, to devices of the cooled type.

In the development of the tube art, there 5 have come into use certain types of tubes which employ anodes contained wholly within the envelope, some of which are hollow and traversed by a cooling fluid. The hollow electrodes are usually constituted of thin metal in order to receive the greatest cooling effect and are secured within the envelope by means of a tapered seal to a reentrant portion of the tube. Difllculty has been encountered heretofore in the application of the cooling fluid and electrical energy to this type of anode on account of the fact that the electrical connections, fluid conduits and the like, from the exterior of the envelope to the interiorly positioned electrode produce considerable strain at the tapered seal and tend 20. to rupture the tube.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of fluid and electrical connector for use with apparatus of the type referred to, as will impose no appreciable strain at the place where the electrode is supported from the glass. This object is attained, in brief, by providing a flexible metal hose for this purpose and securing the hose to the anode in an improved manner. The invention will be better 330 understood when reference is made to the follarged view of a portion of the tube in section,

showing the connector in detail.

The type of tube chosen to depict an exemplary embodiment of our invention is a splitanode magnetically controlled electron discharge device useful for generating exceedingly high frequency oscillations for radio transmission and reception purposes. A device of this sort is disclosed and claimed in the Okabe application, Serial No. 285,008, filed June 13, 1928, and entitled Oscillation generators, also shown and described in the Nolte application, Serial No. 444,082, filed April 14, 1930, and entitled Methods of exhaust and apparatus therefor, both of which are assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. The tube consists of an evacuated envelope designated by reference character 1, containing two semi-circular mitten anodes 2 arranged about an axially disposed filament 3. There are two flat, serially connected coils 4 disposed concentrically about the filament and anodes whose purpose is to modify the electrostatic fleld between the electrodes in such a manner as to cause the generation of oscillations when the tube is con nected in appropriate and well-known circuits. The anodes are constituted of thin copper, about fifty mils thick, and are peened longitudinally at a position midway of the width as indicated at 5 so as to form a continuous passageway for a cooling medium along the upper, lower and end portions of each member.

The anode is secured to the envelope by means of tapered ring 6 of cylindrical cross-section which conveniently is formed integral with the shank portion '7 of the anode and sealed in any suitable-and well-known manner to a thickened bead portion 8 of the envelope. The peened portion 5 extends only over the semi-circular or mitten part of the anode so that it is necessary to provide a central partition 9 of metal in order to continue the passageways from the shank portion to the ring member. The partition is carried at one end by a circular metal plate 10 suitably secured to the inner surface of the ring 6 and serving to close the interior of the mitten and shank portions from the ring portion. The partition, at the other end, extends to a place where the peening begins and is secured along its length conveniently by wedging itself across the diametral portion of the anode shank. The plate member 10 is provided with two circular openings which communicate with the two compartments formed by the partition. These openings contain screw H threads to receive one end of the improved fluid and electrical connector 11.

The connector, improved in accordance with our invention, is shown in detail in Fig. 2 and consists of a foundation or liner member 12, preferably of copper, formed of thin tubing, preferably of circular cross-section and compressed at the ends in order to produce transverse crimps which contact with each other in a resilient manner, as sylphon material, so as readily to permit the member to bend without breaking. While we prefer the type of connector shown and described, it is to be understood that our invention is not limited thereto but contemplates all forms of flexible metal conduits which readily bend and are able to hold water or other fluid. Thus, for example, the liner 12 may be formed of grooved tubing in which the metal at the bottom of the groove is sufliciently thin to give the proper resiliency. This member may also be constituted of thin copper ribbon, wound helical fashion, with edges overlapping and held together by crimping.

To each end of the liner member, there is secured a threaded portion 13, one of which is shown, and is longer than the other in order to be screwed into the plate member 10. A copper wire sheath or casing 14 is tightly woven, crisscross fashion, over the liner member soas to form a rugged wall for the conduit without impairing its flexibility. The sheath extends only over the crimped portion or is made to do so by cutting to this length. Collars 15 are secured to each end of the liner member, leaving a por-- tion of one of the threaded ends to be screwed into the threaded opening of the plate 10, as shown. The collar remote from the plate member is of less thickness than the other collar in order to be attached by a-suitable clamp (not shown) to the terminating member .ofa combined fluid and electrical supply conduit (not shown), .A convenient form of clamp and-conduit arrangement is described ,and claimed in the copending Nolte application, Serial No. 553,602 which matured into Patent No. 1,888,833, entitled Combined fluidand electrical couplings for electric discharge devices, filed July 28, .1931, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. v

, Two pairs of adjacently positioned connectors are pr-ovidedior each tube, one ofeach pair serving as a fluid inlet and the other of the pair as a fluid outlet.

On account of the flexibility of the conduits and by reason of the fact that they terminate at the end remote from the tube in a rigid collar, it isrevident that a rapid connect and disconnect from sources of electrical energy and cooling fluid may be load which Permits the ready insertion and extraction of the tube from current on account of its tubular configuration which for shortwave, high current apparatus approximates the best form of high frequency conductor.

- While we have described our invention in connection with a tube designed to generate high frequency oscillations and employing two mitten anodes, it is evident that the invention is not limited thereto. The improved connector has application generally to all types of tubes containing one or more cooled electrodes within the envelope and to which the cooling fluid conduits must be attached without causing strain inthe glass or in the seal. 7 1

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,

An electric discharge apparatus comprising an envelope containing a plurality of electrodes, one of which is hollow and is adapted to be cooled by an externally supplied fluid, said one electrode being positioned wholly within the envelope and secured thereto by a seal, a plate positioned within the electrode interior remote from the seal, means for conveying fluid to said electrode without imparting appreciable strain to the seal, said means comprising a flexible metal conduit secured to said plate.

' HENRY J. NOL'IE.

ELMER D. McARTI-IUR. 

